Providence Day football’s David Sanders makes college choice. Where he’s headed

No matter which college he picked Saturday, Providence Day’s David Sanders was going to make his parents proud.

Sanders is the best high school football player in North Carolina and perhaps the country. And in a ceremony at school, he picked Tennessee over his other finalists Georgia, Nebraska and Ohio State.

He will enroll in college in January.

Top high school football player in NC — maybe in the US — faces tough college decision

“I’m super proud of David,” David Sanders Sr. said of his son, who is 6-foot-7 and nearly 300 pounds. “He’s the most mature young man. He’s done some amazing things and he’s opened the door for so many kids that look like him, that are his size. He’s bringing light to a position that normally doesn’t get it. So this is a proud moment to be his dad. Academic-wise, David is doing amazing in the classroom and he’s aspiring to be something great.”

The audience included Providence Day graduate Grant Williams, who was a two-time SEC basketball player of the year at Tennessee and now plays for the Charlotte Hornets.

Sanders wore a white zip-up Nike jacket with a necklace with his number, 70, on it. As his parents spoke before the announcement, Sanders lowered his head and clasped his hands together under his chin, closing his eyes.

After an emotional speech, Sanders removed his top to reveal a black T-shirt that read “Committed: David Sanders Jr.” with a graphic of him wearing a Volunteers uniform.

“When I was wiring my speech, I was emotional,” Sanders said. “I knew when I actually had to give the speech I was going to be emotional but my family means the world to me. They’ve been with me every step of the way and to have them with me on my special day was very important.”

Sanders called Saturday the best day of his life so far.

“It felt like it was supposed to feel,” he said. “I feel relieved. I’m happy, I’m excited. It’s everything wrapped into one. I’ll spend next 3-4 years in Knoxville. Maybe I might find my wife. I might get married there and live there forever. You never know what may happen. I’m just excited.”

Sanders, who hopes to become a doctor, is ranked among the nation’s top 10 players regardless of class by MaxPreps. He was named the N.C. Gatorade high school football player of the year as a junior, rare for an offensive tackle.

Most major recruiting services rank Sanders as a five-star prospect and among the top five players in the class of 2025. He has had more than 40 major college Division I offers.

247 Sports director of scouting Andrew Ivins thinks Sanders could develop into a first-round NFL draft pick, like former Providence Day star Ickey Ekwonu, selected by the Carolina Panthers in the first round of the 2022 draft.

Sanders is a “gifted athlete with a chance to emerge as a franchise corner protector given his foot quickness and reactionary skills,” Ivins said. “(He) could probably get a look somewhere on the defensive line at the next level given what he has put on tape, but (his) ability to neutralize speed rushers and extend the pocket suggests that he has a monster ceiling as an offensive tackle.”

Sanders is The Charlotte Observer’s preseason offensive player of the year. His coach, Chad Grier, said Sanders had allowed two sacks in his first three seasons of varsity ball.

Last season, on defense, he had 32 quarterback pressures and seven sacks in part-time minutes. But Grier said Sanders is as beloved on Providence Day’s campus as much for the student and person he is as the athlete he’s become.

“He leaves me speechless,” said his mother, Samantha Sanders. “It didn’t just start now. It didn’t just start his recruitment. Since Day 1, he’s left me speechless. David has been an awesome kid and has turned into an amazing young man. Athletes get this stigma of just being an athlete. We want him to leave no stone unturned. Go do everything. We know at the next level, he’s going to do great things. He always has. Everywhere he goes, he leaves a print. He leaves his light. He’s so selfless, and we’re so excited for his next path.”

PHOTOS: David Sanders signing